Senegal / The Gambia

Budgieboy

Budgieboy

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Hi All

We are heading South next year and considering going to West Africa ( Dakar and onto Gambia) from the Canaries rather than the traditional route of Canaries - Cape Verdes which I have done already , just asking for any recent info on the area and thoughts of the committee , I am very weary of scaring wifey at this stage of a circumnavigation as we have a long way to go and will needlessly run into a prob or two on the way , you might think I am strange but get exited thinking I could have a Hippo under my bunk in the Gambian River :) hopefully outside of the boat :) ...
 
All I can offer is that ignorance is sometimes bliss....
My father sailed us up the Gambia back in the 70's, I was aged nine and it was one of the biggest adventures I can remember...... Suspect things might have changed a bit now though.
 
Budgieboy said:
Hi All

We are heading South next year and considering going to West Africa ( Dakar and onto Gambia) from the Canaries rather than the traditional route of Canaries - Cape Verdes which I have done already , just asking for any recent info on the area and thoughts of the committee , I am very weary of scaring wifey at this stage of a circumnavigation as we have a long way to go and will needlessly run into a prob or two on the way , you might think I am strange but get exited thinking I could have a Hippo under my bunk in the Gambian River :) hopefully outside of the boat :) ...
Click to expand...
Ariadne of this parish went there IIRC on their way to the Carib.
Stu
 
I d say go for it :)
In 2010 we spent 2 months in senegal (one dakar plus sine saloum, one in casamance) and one month in gambia. Ex post, I d say I would share the same,period 2 weeks in senegal and 2.5 months in gambia.
The river gambia is not difficult to navigate, and if you take one of the tributaries you will experience plenty of exploration sailing in uncharted places; total self reliance is a must. As I said on the pm, never felt any personal risk (family with two children).
We went as fas upstream as feasible (there were/are electrical cables near georgetown which impede going farther), think the boat at anchor while crocodiles cross the river, at night a lot of snoring noises from hippoes, chimps on a couple of islands. Needless to say we were the only boat (there were a lot more near banjul). Banjul is ok for revictualling before the transat, if you wish so.
When I get a decent connection I ll post some video links.

Now on our second atlantic tour, we are now farther to the south, Bijagos archipelago in guinea bissau, if you want to experience serious exploration sailing this is THE place: think north brittany in terms of rocks, tides and current strengths, about one hundred islands with very limited charting imagine 20yo 1:250 000 scale charts; not surprisingly in one place they said "you are the second boat this year". Technically tough, but very, very rewarding, real tropical:forest, we arev often at anchor under trees probably 3-4 times the height of our mast :)
 
Hi Roberto

Many thanks for that , Wife seems OK with it all so it looks like Gambia here we come , would you stop in the Cape Verdes on the way down ? .... look forward to the video links .... Ken
 
Went to Gambia on hols a couple of years ago. Quite a few yachts seemed to be abandoned and rusting out there. The local kids may shout "two bob " at you. Apparently in colonial days the locals got paid two bob a week and somehow this became slang for white people.
 
There is a Pilot book - we have a copy somewhere - covering the area, we never made it there, but a couple of friends who did came back with rave reviews about their time there, particularly up the Gambia River.
One downside to consider - based on our experience - is that you will have to do that side-trip uninsured, the Insurers wouldn't cover us, even just 3rd party, there argument being that as there were no yacht repair facilities or Surveyors in either Gambia or Senegal, they could potentialy be saddled with a huge bill, arising from even for a relatively minor accident. That's why we didn't go, though with a few more years cruising under our keel, we'd probably now be more than happy to carry the risk ourselves if we passed that way again.
 
There's just been a rather surprising election result which might lead to some unrest. Hopefully this will have settled down by the time you go, but it's worth keeping an eye on it.
 
Thanks BobnLesley will talk to my insurance Co and take a view on that , in the meantime I will watch the political situation as well .... ⛵️⚓️
 
richardbrennan said:
There's just been a rather surprising election result which might lead to some unrest. Hopefully this will have settled down by the time you go, but it's worth keeping an eye on it.
Click to expand...

It's now being reported that, to everyone's amazement, the current President has said he accepts defeat and will stand down. (Though if I'd just won that election I'd be rather nervous just now!)

Nice to think the President-elect once worked in Argos on Holloway Road, London!
 
A few videos
Early morning visitor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5d5f2FGK48

Lamin lodge from the mast top, one of the two anchorages near banjul, here we prepared the boat for the transat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Vx4XBy3tA


This is the greatest danger, always at lamin lodge: they will streal anything left unattended
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuXmna8SMUc

Anchorage on one of the tributaries (though possibly senegal)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DeDzmUBZSU


This is the upper Gambia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzX_T9d4BoM

The lower reaches have totally different vegetation
http://sybrancaleone.blogspot.fr/2010/12/vid-navigazione-in-un-bolon.html

Dinghy offroad D)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnFabe6ZACg


:)
 
A few years back I did part of this route with the annual "Rallye des Iles du Soleil", a French organized rally (from the Canaries at the same time as ARC) which included Gambia and Senegal on its Atlantic circuit itinerary which also included the Amazon. Not sure if its still running though.

I still have a copy of Steve Jones "West Africa Cruising Guide" dated 1997 - rather long in the tooth now but if you are interested please PM me.
 
Thanks Sandyman ... It is a situation I will keep an eye on as it may well get volatile , we still have another 10 months to decide , have the pilot books and charts so can make a last minute decision .... :)
 
LittleSister said:
It's now being reported that, to everyone's amazement, the current President has said he accepts defeat and will stand down. (Though if I'd just won that election I'd be rather nervous just now!)

Nice to think the President-elect once worked in Argos on Holloway Road, London!
Click to expand...

As Sandyman links to, he's changed his mind! :ambivalence:

Richard
 
I think I will put this part of my trip on hold for now , looking at the news and foreign office guidelines it looks like it's going to kick off in Gambia ... I have the charts and pilot book as well ⛵️⚓️
 
Budgieboy said:
I think I will put this part of my trip on hold for now , looking at the news and foreign office guidelines it looks like it's going to kick off in Gambia ... I have the charts and pilot book as well ⛵️⚓️
Click to expand...

A friend just posted what a state of emergency looks like anchored in a mangrove swamp up the Gambia yesterday on facebook.

Looked lovely :)





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